There are today a large variety of board games of the type where the playing pieces are assembled into some type of pattern, such as words, during the play of the game. However, it has been found that the game apparatus is usually highly specific to one particular game and rarely is adaptable to other types of game situations. The present game apparatus is multivariant in that it has been designed to be adaptable to a large number of different game types and situations. Thus it provides means to limit the size of the actual playing surface on the board, to set up different playing paths or zones and to provide different methods for determining success during the game and, ultimately, victory at its conclusion. Furthermore, these changes are made by the players themselves so that each play of a particular game can be made more or less complex from preceding plays depending on how challenging the players want it to be. Furthermore, as presently configured, the game apparatus combines the attributes of both skill and luck. As a result it is capable of providing entertainment to players of all ages and educational backgrounds.
The game apparatus itself is fairly simple comprising as it does a basically square game board having a coordinate grid space system printed thereon as the playing surface, a large set of individual playing pieces with various symbols printed thereon and adapted to fit into said grid spaces so that various patterns may be formed and a system for randomly selecting the individual playing pieces used to construct these patterns during the play of a game.
In this sense it is similar to a number of other board games including the well known "Scrabble" and the systems recently patented by Shapiro, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,746,343 and Matsumoto in U.S. Pat. No. 4,083,564. However, it also has a number of unique features which serve to distinguish the present game apparatus from all of these. For one, the symbols on the playing pieces are not fixed, that is, they are not of one kind, such as with Scrabble. Rather, they are provided with a variety, including letters, numbers, playing card designations, and representation symbols such as arrows, animals and the like. Thus they form the basis of a wide variety of game situations which are established at the option of the players before a game starts. A second feature is the use of one or more area limiters adapted to alter the size and shape of the playing surface on the board and to create a variety of maze like playing paths on the board to limit the size and shape of the patterns which may be formed. These limiters also can be placed on the board in advance so that an almost infinite variety of game situations can be established in advance ranging from the very simple to quite complex. The actual ones chosen depend on the skill of the players and the challenges they wish to meet. Regardless of which type of symbols used, and playing path selected, the random nature of playing piece selection assures that skill alone will not "win" the game. Rather, a considerable portion of "good" luck will also be necessary for a player to meet his game objectives before one of the other players in the game does. By so doing players of all ages can play and enjoy the game.
Thus, the principal object of the invention is to provide a game apparatus adaptable to be adjusted into a variety of game situations at the option of the players of the invention.
It is a second objective of the invention to provide an apparatus in which the elements of skill and luck are combined in every game so that the players of all ages and backgrounds may play and enjoy it.
These and other objectives and features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and appended claims.